How to Sign Your Will

If you are a BC resident, you must sign your Will according to the strict requirements of the British Columbia Wills Act. The Wills Act requires that:

two witnesses must watch you sign on the last page of the Will (use your normal signature)

the witnesses must then watch each other sign on the last page of the Will (in other words, you and your two witnesses must be present in the same room at the same time, and watch one another sign the Will)

neither witness can be a beneficiary or the spouse of a beneficiary named in the Will (or the gift to that beneficiary will be void)

In addition to the requirements of the Wills Act, it is a good idea to:

insert the date on the last page of your Will (to prevent an earlier will from being considered as your last will)

ensure that each page of the will is numbered (to prevent the removal of pages)

write your initials in the right-hand margin at the bottom of all the pages of the Will, except the last page which you have already signed (to prevent the addition of pages)

have each witness print his or her name, address, and occupation below their signature

have each witness initial each page where you previously placed your initials

if any amendments are to be made to the Will (such as the correction of a spelling error), the amendment must be made before you sign the Will. Then, when you are signing your Will, you and both witnesses (in the presence of each other) must initial next to the change or in the column to the right of the line in which the amendment appears

sign only one original Will (make copies, but do not sign copies)

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I can’t say enough about our satisfaction with Lianne Macdonald. She was extremely patient and understanding and helped us attain our wishes with our will. She gave legal advice but helped us to fulfill our wishes in a way that worked for us.

B.L.

Del was patient, considerate, listened to my issues and treated me with professionalism and respect. Del put in extra thought in drawing up my will by thinking through the legal consequences of different options.

D.M.

I wanted to say thank you for your help with making out our wills. We have not needed legal advice until now so I was not looking forward to searching for a lawyer that I trust. You made the whole process easy to understand and my wife and I feel that, with your guidance, we were able to make the proper decisions in regards to our children’s future. I would have no problem recommending you as you are friendly, professional, you listened to our needs, and you are affordable. Thank you for helping us know that our children will be safe and secure if we aren’t around to take care of them.

C.V.

This is just a quick note to let you know how much we appreciated your personal service in preparing a power of attorney for my mother last month. As you know, Mom is quite challenged with the English language and she needs a lot of clarifications. Your draft given to her ahead of time, your use of regular language rather than legalese and your patience with her in your office meant so much to her. She was just as much at ease as when she conducts business in her native French language. So, once again, many thanks for the human touch.